us. the investigators probably know more than they are saying but it was an argument, we know that. the question is, whether he knew the man who started chasing him through the streets and fired the fatal shots. >> thank you, joe vazquez in las vegas. friends of kenny cherry and even his attorney say that he was into gangsta rap but say that was an image, not really who he was. they say he moved to vegas from this neighborhood in oakland to get away from the violence and pursue his career as a rapper. >> i can't believe that happened to him. he was a good dude. i'm just distraught. i don't understand what's going on. >> cherry leaves behind three children, a 3-year-old, 2-year- old and a newborn. an oakland man who spent nearly 7 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit is finally free. >> real blessed to be free again. it's been a long journey for me. >> just minutes ago ronald ross walked out of jail. he had been serving 25 years to

life for a 2006 shooting he had nothing to do with. a team of volunteer lawyers worked for years to prove his innocence. >> god blessed me with the dream team angels that brought me this far. without them, without the "innocence project," i probably would still be stuck behind these walls for something i haven't done. >> first thing ross plans to do as a free man, have dinner with his mother. she got to hug him in court today for the first time in years. >> i'm 77 years old and i have never felt like this is my [ indiscernible ] god is so good, he awesome. >> the man investigators think was the actual shooter was already in jail for unrelated crimes. new at 5:00 a fourth person has been charged with the murder of a south bay millionaire. katrina fitzwas arraigned today and prosecutors identify her as a prostitute to previously

worked for ravi kumra. she and three others are accused of breaking into his monte sereno mansion last fall. a second prostitute is charged with accessory to murder. the san jose woman who lied about finding a finger in a bowl of wendy's chili has stirred up forepot of trouble. kpix 5's mark sayre says this time has to do with a different body part. mark. >> reporter: anna ayala is facing another felony count in this case. this one involves her son's foot and that infamous chili finger case is already playing a role in how this case is being handled. 47-year-old anna ayala appeared in santa clara superior court and quickly shielded her face from the cameras. her son, 26-year-old guadalupe junior reyes also appeared in court using crutches. ayala is known around the nation after making up a story in 2005 about finding a severed finger in a bowl of chili at wendy's. her older sister mary is sad to see this all playing out again.

>> it's not good. she's my little sister. you know, and i worry. i worry. >> reporter: in this latest case, guadalupe reyes is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and shooting himself in the foot then to cover up what happened, ayala allegedly lying to police and made up a story about her son being shot by two men for no apparent reason. police say ayala gave a vivid description of the suspect and even a possible name and police almost arrested that man before determining the whole story was a fake. >> they gave pretty specific information to the upon the to where we actually thought we had a suspect. we interviewed this person. we conducted forensic testing as far as gunshot residue. we were able to eliminate that person as a suspect. >> reporter: bail is $150,000 for each defendant and her role in the 2005 was a factor if the

decision. >> it's relevant at this point for purposes of bail based on the fact that, you know, as i mentioned she has a history of manipulating the system for her own gain and we feel she is a flight risk. >> she is a good person and that she is my sister and that i love her and i'll support her to the end. this investigation actually all began last october but police say it took so long because ayala was so descriptive in describing those nonexistent suspects down to the fact that one of them had big ears. she faces four years in prison if convicted. live in san jose, i'm mark sayre, kpix 5. other bay area headlines, an off-duty san jose police officer detained a woman jennifer davis who you see here for allegedly trying to rob passengers on bart. sergeant fred kotto and his fiancee why on the train going for their marriage license when someone yelled they had been robbed. kotto held the suspect respect until police took her into

custody. in walnut creek a former ballet employee has been arrested for child molest charges. jason pedros sa of san bruno is a former actor at the lesher center for the art at walnut creek and also at a local ballet school. in brentwood today pg&e showed off a new device for inspecting natural gas pipeline. unlike other cameras this one studies the inside of gas transmission lines without interrupting service. the utility says it costs $800,000. its part of the utility's continuing effort to improve safety after the 2010 san bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people. back to work for crews on the new bay bridge one day after this crane tipped off under the new eastern span. ken bastida is live in mobile5 on treasure island with the latest on the investigation of how it happened. >> reporter: it's a mystery for a lot of different agencies looking into this. we talk to caltrans today and

asked for a closer look at the structure, the actual crane that fell. they said they didn't know where it was. so we went looking ourselves. and guess what, we found it about 200 yards behind their office over in oakland. you can see the twisted metal from the crane and how much force must have been applied to get it to break break. we found some employees from american bridge flor who are up on a second crane looking at the cable that was used in moving some of that falsework down off the bottom of the bridge. we talked to caltrans' spokesman andrew gordon. he told us it's an investigation that's going to take a while. >> my understanding is that right now the contractor is working with the coast guard. it's unclear whether osha has become involved or at what stage they will become involved and i'm sure they are going to be look at everything in terms of the equipment to the workers who were out there kind of what the various steps of the protocol was and where all the

safe measures followed and where things fell apart. >> reporter: the folks at american bridge floor not too happy with us being at the location? they asked us to leave, and we did. they had no comment for us about what's going on. we do know that this is not going to affect the opening of the bridge. caltrans is very emphatic about that this afternoon. reporting live from treasure island, ken bastida, kpix 5. you can find more stories on how the bridge was built and video from the crane collapse on our website, cbssf.com. did you see this bright gold orange thin float up? >> they are giant goldfish filling up lake tahoe. the downside to the crazy phenomenon. >> and bay area women have a new tool to fight back against

an international scam. what they are being given to carry around to ward off thieves around town. >> filter sunshine in portion of the bay area including around mount vaca. this is a live look over san francisco bay where we still have the sunshine. find out if those clouds will bring any rain to us this weekend. your forecast coming up. >> then a murder suspect walking around a free man. the reason the judge gave for granting oscar pistorius bail.

giant goldfish! much bigger than average -- and swimming ey don't belong researchers at lake tahoe have reeled in something you have to see to believe, giant goldfish! much bigger than average. and swimming where they don't belong. while it seems like a novelty, there is a serious downside. kpix 5's michelle griego explains why researchers fear this could be the result of a new and growing problem. >> reporter: on almost a daily basis, lake tahoe researchers head out on this customized

boat to search for non-native fish like the largemouth bass using electric probes researchers stun the fish and catch them with a net. >> you can get 200 fish in one school. >> reporter: that's how she struck gold. >> see this bright orange thing floating up. what is that? it's a goldfish. >> reporter: the same species sold in your pet store but what they're finding are no ordinary goldfish. they are giant, more than a foot and a half long. >> we know that we have a giant goldfish. the question now becomes how long has it been there an how many others are there in the lake? >> one day they caught 15 in just this one corner. >> reporter: researchers believe the goldfish are introduced by people emptying fishbowls or aquariums into lakes and streams and confirms a new threat to the ecology of lake tahoe. >> the small little things that people do can have a large impact when you consider that, you know, probably not just one

person doing it. >> reporter: biologists believe if the numbers grow goldfish could ultimately affect the clarity of the lake. >> we are trying to keep it crystal clear and excreting nutrients like the composition of miracle-gro will stimulate algae growth. >> reporter: researchers say there are 100 times more largemouth bass but they say the growing number of goldfish show how easy it is for an invasive species to take hold. michelle griego, kpix 5. >> scam protection. how a simple shopping bag could be the weapon against an international scam targeting elderly women. >> and don't let your guard down yet. the flu is still raging. the reason many are still getting sick despite having a flu shot. alabama

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accused of killing his girlfriend is out of jail this evening. cameras caug the south african olympian accused of killing his girlfriend is out of jail this evening. cameras caught murder suspect oscar pistorius riding away from court after a judge decided the man known as the "blade runner" was too famous to flee bail. the announcement came after several days of testimony about how the runner shot and killed his girlfriend model reeva steenkamp. defense attorneys say the

runner thought he was shooting a home intruder. >> as the family, we are convinced that oscar's version of what happened on that terrible night will be proved to be true. >> bail was set at $113,000 and pistorius must hand over his guns and passports and report to a police station twice a week. well, it's happening here and in asian communities around the world. con artists preying on elderly women and swindling them out of money and jewelry. as kpix 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts explains, police are hoping an accessory will keep more people from becoming victims. >> reporter: it's not your traditional crime-fighting tool. but police hope these shopping bags that say beware of street scams will protect the seniors who carry them. >> it identifies the potential victim as someone who has a very good education. >> reporter: educated about a growing type of crime captured on video. scammers approach elderly asians and tell them they or

members of the family are under a curse. the only way to lift it is to hand over their money and valuables usually in a bag so the item can be blessed. >> there is a bait-and-switch that's done where they switch out the bags. >> reporter: san francisco police chief greg suhr says at least 55 asian seniors have been swindled out of more than a million and a half dollars in the past three years and despite three recent arrests at san francisco international airport, and a seizure of a trove of money and gems, the crimes are continuing. >> how would people even do that to perfect strangers? >> reporter: this senior advocate says the scam works because family is so important to the asian community. >> talking about the [ indiscernible ] on the family is very, very disturbing. >> reporter: but will a bag really help? >> this bag campaign was 80% effective in hong kong where they were suffering from this thing in epidemic proportions. >> reporter: san francisco police hope handing these bags

out at senior centers will raise awareness here, too letting shoppers spread the word they have gotten the message. >> i love bags. >> reporter: now, san francisco police say they plan to pass out about 1,000 of these bags in asian communities in the coming weeks. they are also asking anyone who is approached by this type of scammer to call 911 immediately. and if you have a consumer problem, give us a call 1-888-5- helps-u. neighborhoods on the peninsula might be more willing to welcome a high-speed rail as long as no extra tracks are added. the high-speed rail project would allow passengers to go from san francisco to los angeles in less than two hours and 40 minutes. today state senator jerry hill unveiled a bill guaranteeing the high-speed rail would run on the two existing tracks sharing them with caltrain. >> we were concerned that what we saw was not something that anyone in this community would be -- would accept. so we had a lack of trust after the bill was passed last year

authorizing the high-speed rail authority and the funding. it left some kind of open doors that we wanted to close. >> the proposed bill would also provide funding to michael train run on electrical power allowing the tracks to be compatible with the high-speed rail. the snowstorm in the midwest dying down. millions are digging out though from several inches of snow. and the travel problems are also piling up. icy roads gusty winds that made treacherous conditions for drivers and, of course, hundreds of flights had to be canceled. it's amazing seeing that video and then our day today, gorgeous, clear, stunning. >> doesn't seem like the same day. >> no. >> they are going to get more and we are going to get more. this pattern is locked in place most of the country is dealing with winter and they are dealing with snow and cold. for us, did you remember your sunscreen? let's take a live look outside. filtered sunshine and i'll explain why we have some cloud cover moving in, and a few of you may get a shower tonight but most of you stay drive.

a look toward the bay bridge over the port of oakland. air quality not the best because high pressure is over top of us. already down to 52 with a sea breeze in san francisco today. san jose at 56. concord 60 the warm spot. livermore 58. oakland 57. high-def doppler radar crescent city getting showers. 99% of this is north of us. we are protected by the bubble of high pressure. we'll talk more about that in a second, too. mid-40s for san francisco and oakland. start the weekend off tomorrow in concord, 40. napa 38. mountain view 43. couple of degrees milder because of that cloud cover that's moving in. let me show you the cloud cover. we have a front moving toward us. in the last couple of frames, the clouds and rain pushing more east than south. we'll get cloud cover toward mendocino and lake county may see sprinkles but the majority of the rainfall will stay north of us because of the protective bubble of high pressure that's

northwest of us. it's not going to move. this is the first of three storms that will miss us. the pacific northwest will get half a foot of rainfall over the next several days. we'll get a half dozen straight days of sunshine. sunny and dry for the next several days. so showers extreme north bay, aside from that sunshine for all of us by tomorrow afternoon, we'll stay dry and we are trending warmer especially next week as we say hello to march next week. 58 tomorrow in downtown san francisco. livermore 58. san jose 61. low 60s for sunnyvale, campbell, palo alto. low 60s for danville and san ramon. around 60 for benicia and vallejo. sunshine in the and for kentfield. high 58. berkeley tomorrow 60 degrees for your saturday. sunday couple of degrees milder. we'll hang out in the low to mid-60s through wednesday. for the first day of march next friday, up near 70 degrees. and once again let's say it together, zero rainfall. >> no rain. >> i can't see any in sight. >> a lot of sunshine.

>> thank you. >> enjoy the weekend. the year of the snake is upon us and one million people are expected to come out to chinatown's new year parade tomorrow. builders are busy putting the finishing touches on the elaborate floats today. the parade kicks off at 5:15 p.m. and runs from market and second street to union square and to chinatown. san francisco is famous for hosting one of the biggest and best chinese celebrations in the world. we'll be right back.

through sunday, save up to $500 on beautyrest and posturepedic. get a sealy queen set for just $399. even get 3 years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. but hurry, sleep train's presidents' day sale ends sunday.

scott pelley is in new york. scott -- now for a look at what's ahead on the "cbs evening news." >> scott pelley is in new york. scott. >> reporter: hi, allen and liz. great to be with you in san francisco. we are going to look at the washington budget crisis from the perspective of california tonight. essential government services are being threatened! will food safety be compromised? we'll have a look at that on the "cbs evening news" at 5:30 right after kpix 5 news.

don't let your guard down yet. flu season is still in full swing here in california. >> and this year's flu shot is doing a dismal job at protecting older americans. dr. kim on what you need to know. reporter: with the blue skies and warm weather, i just had to ask. gorgeous day here around the bay. are you worried at all about the flu? >> uhm, a person that's not worried. >> reporter: any concerns about getting the flu? >> no. >> i don't worry at all about it. >> reporter: heat to rain on your sunny day but the flu is still here. the predominant strain is nasty, statewide 36 individuals under 65 have died, six in the bay area. >> this h3n2 strain that we have now causes really serious disease. >> reporter: more bad news. this year's vaccine is not doing a good job in protecting older americans. while it's 56% effective for most of us, for those over 65

it's only 27% effective. and only the% 9% effective. elderly have week weaker immune response. >> seniors are also affecting the worst and respond the least well to the vaccine. >> reporter: the vaccine is still recommended especially for those under 65. >> that also prevents a lot of influenza and prevented them from giving the flu to seniors. >> reporter: these ladies got their shots and they are not worried. >> i don't want to be scared. it's a beautiful day. i want to have a good day. if i'm going to worried about those kinds of things, i don't think i could get up in the morning. >> reporter: now, for your peace of mind, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, keep your hands away from your face, and stay away from sick people. twice as many elderly people have gone to the hospital than in recent years. so if you come down with the flu, call your doctor and ask

if you need to take an antiviral. >> nasty. >> it is nasty. we'll be right back.

well, well, well. growing up, we didn't have u-verse. we couldn't record four shows at the same time. in my day, you were lucky if you could record two shows. and if mom was recording her dumb show and dad was recording

his dumb show then, by george, that's all we watched. and we liked it! today's kids got it so good. [ male announcer ] get u-verse tv for just $19 a month for 1 year when you bundle tv and internet. rethink possible. resignation, has huge political california. new at 6:00 tonight, a shake-up at the state capital. how an unexpected resignation has a huge political implication in california. and we told you last night about a problem seeping into google. tonight how toxic trouble is spreading to a crowded bay area neighborhood. those stories and much more tonight at 6:00. thanks for watching us at 5:00. the "cbs evening news with

scott pelley" is next. >> and remember, the latest news and weather are always on cbssf.com. >> great weather for the weekend. >> not bad. >> enjoy it. >> i've seen worse. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> pelley: tonight, now lance armstrong has the federal government on his tail. bob orr on the justice department suing the disgraced cyclist for fraud. a judge decides whether oscar pistorius can go free on bail. emma hurd was in the courtroom with the olympian charged with murder. the washington budget crisis murder. the washington budget crisis threatens essential government services. >> it would be an economic disaster and there would be no winners. >> pelley: ben tracy in los angeles and steve hartman "on the road" with the incredible act of kindness that brought a mother to tears. >> i think i'll cry about it for the rest of my life. captioning sponsored by cbs

this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. many of lance armstrong's victories were painted red white, and blue. his team sponsor was the u.s. postal service and, in the late 1990s, the agency could hardly believe its luck, that it had put its mo put its became arguably the greatest endurance athlete of all time. well, today color the postal service embarrassed. the u.s. justice department announced this afternoon that it will join a civil lawsuit that claims armstrong defrauded the federal government. here's bob orr. >> reporter: the lawsuit alleges lance armstrong broke his sponsorship contract with the u.s. postal service by using performance-enhancing drugs while winning multiple tour de france titles. the postal service paid at least $31 million to sponsor armstrong's cycling team, and now the justice department